It started well. Then Squid encountered a long large snake going the opposite way. It was a serpent trail!
The snake, annoyed by their intrusion on its path, hissed and threatened them with a fang. But Squid imitated another snake and hissed back. Astrid wasn’t sure what she said, but the other snake decided to yield the right of way.
“She charmed him,” Fornax murmured. “That’s one clever girl.”
They reached the top. There was southern Xanth spread out before them.
“Ooo!” Win oooed. “A kitty cat!”
“Don’t touch it,” Astrid warned, recognizing the species. “That’s a cat-atonic. It stuns anyone who touches it.”
Win withdrew her hand, heeding the voice of experience. They were back in punny Xanth.
Fortunately that was the only danger at the moment. There was even an enchanted path nearby. That meant they could safely and comfortably travel without worrying about monster attacks. The children skipped along, enjoying it. It was quite a contrast to what they had encountered in Storage.
As the day faded they came to a rest stop. There were pie plants, a tsoda pond, assorted bedding and clothing trees, and a nice shelter. They could relax for the night. They feasted and washed and settled down for a story Fornax told about adventures in weird faraway lands like Earth. Astrid had to admit they were amusing. The Demoness was really catching on to getting along with children, and did seem to enjoy their company.
Fornax stayed with them for the night. “May we sleep beside you adults?” Win inquired as darkness closed in.
“Sleep beside whomever you wish,” Astrid said. “But not too close to me. You know why.”
“We know,” Myst said. Then she and Win lay down on either side of her.
Santo and Squid lay down on either side of Fornax. Astrid knew why: the one had had her life directly saved by the Demoness, and the other had taken a shine to her. That left Firenze, who was satisfied to sleep by himself.
Late in the night a voice spoke in Astrid’s head. Something is happening that we need to track.
It was Fornax, using her telepathy. Do we need to get up?
No. We should stay asleep. But I will relay it to you. Someone is sending the children a joint dream.
That’s suspicious, Astrid agreed. Is it a Demon?
I believe so. We must monitor it without interference, so as to know what is going on. Then we may know what to do.
Then the dream started, oddly, as of waking up. The children thought it was the real beginning of the day, not realizing that they were asleep. That was doubly suspicious.
The supposed morning proceeded normally, but in rapid motion, a kind of summary that went unquestioned by the dreamers. The children got up, leaving the adults asleep. Then they went outside.
There were five pretty horses waiting for them. One of them caught their eyes and made a little speech balloon over her head. Inside the balloon was not printed speech but the head of a young pretty human woman. “We are Day Mares,” she said in a musical voice. “I am Doris.”
“Hello Doris Day Mare!” the children chorused, delighted.
“We bring nice daydreams to people whose attention wanders,” Doris said. “But we have a problem we hope you can help us with. That is why we are appearing to you as we are, instead of delivering our dreams invisibly.”
“What can we do?” Firenze asked.
“We have run low on material for the sweetest dreams,” Doris said. “A shipment got lost, and we are in danger of running out. We need to get more, quickly, or many folk will suffer stupidly blank minds instead of nice dreams. That would be awful! The dreams are stored in Castle Innocent, but we can’t enter it.”
“Why not?” Santo asked.
“Only children can enter Castle Innocent. Adults are hopelessly spoiled by things like the Adult Conspiracy. We mares are unfortunately adult. We know about things like signaling the stork and fading out at the end of life, and we have heard all the bad words. So we can’t get in. But you children should be able to enter Castle Innocent and fetch out the perfect stuff of dreams. That will rescue us from failing our mission. Will you help?”
“Of course we’ll help,” Squid said enthusiastically.
“Thank you so much! Then we will carry you to the castle. Do get on.” And the five mares lay down so that the children could mount their backs.
“But I don’t know how to ride a horse,” Win protested belatedly.
“Don’t worry,” Doris said. “You will be magically secured so you won’t fall off no matter how fast we go.”
“That’s good,” Myst said.
The children got on the five mares, and the horses stood up carefully. Sure enough, although there were no saddles, the children had no trouble staying on. Dreams could be wonderful that way, especially daydreams.
“And away we go!” Doris said, making a friendly little neigh.
The mares started walking. Then they trotted. Then they galloped. Then they flew without wings. The children stayed on, loving it. They looked like accomplished riders.
They zoomed with the speed of thought o’er hill and dale, past stream and meadow, leaping across verdant valleys and over high hills. Soon they reached the lovely Castle Innocent. It was girt with candy-colored pennants on rock-candy turrets sparkling in the sunlight. A tsoda-pop moat surrounded it, with many flavors of lollipops growing on its bank.
“How do we get inside?” Firenze asked as the smaller children drooled.
“The front door will open for you,” the Doris image said.
They dismounted and approached the castle. As they did, the drawbridge creaked down. Its boards were made of hard chocolate.
“Are there any cautions?” Sancho asked.
“Just one: don’t eat anything inside the castle.”
“We won’t,” Squid promised.
But Win wasn’t satisfied. “Why not?”
“Because then you will not be able to leave it. It’s a rule.”
“Awww,” Myst said, looking rebellious.
But Astrid, watching, knew that this was the kind of rule that existed in temptingly dangerous places. This was mischief.
They trekked across the moat. Firenze tried the handle of the door, and it turned readily, letting the door swing inward.
They marched on in. There were piled boxes marked DREAMS. They picked them up one by one and moved them to just inside the front door, which remained open. They weren’t at all heavy; it seemed that dreams had very little physical substance.
Myst spied a little fragment of a chocolate chip cookie behind where a box had been. It looked wonderfully good. Who would ever miss it? She picked it up and popped it into her mouth, thinking no one would notice.
Don’t do it! Astrid thought, too late.
A siren wailed. The lights blinked. The front door slammed shut.
“Oh blip!” Firenze said. “Someone ate something.”
“FEE FI FO FUM!” the castle said. “SOMEONE DONE SOMETHING DUMB!”
“Who?” Santo asked, looking around.
“Not me,” Squid said.
“Or me,” Win said.
They all looked at Myst. There she stood, with a guilty crumb of cookie on her lip. She was obviously the one. “I’m sorry,” she wailed, tears streaming down her face. “It just looked so good.”
Firenze tried the door. It was tightly closed and locked. He looked at the windows. They were barred. They were caught inside.
“Now it says CASTLE GUILTY,” Santo said, reading the words on the inside of the door.
“How do we get out?” Squid asked.
“THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY OUT,” the castle voice said. “YOU MUST CONFESS YOUR MOST GUILTY SECRETS.”
Oh, bleep! Astrid thought. It’s a trick to unmask your participation, Fornax.
So that’s why the dream! One of the Demons must be suspicious.
Astrid considered that. Not Nemesis?
He would not dare, knowing that I have his number. We’d both get called up on charges.
Can we stop this?
Not without giving away the secret. It’s a cunning trap for more than the children. We shall just have to watch, and hope.
They watched, and hoped.
“Can we Commune?” Win asked.
The children linked hands and Communed. It seemed that they could do this even in a joint dream.
“Wow!” Myst said.
“I don’t know,” Firenze said.
Santo considered. “Let me just say something that possibly is only a passing thought. If I knew a secret, such as maybe there being an ugly wart on a certain lady’s bottom, and I had to choose between saving myself and betraying her, but I really liked her, I think I just wouldn’t want to disappoint her. And I think that if anyone wanted me to betray a friend, well, that would not be anyone I wanted for a friend. So I’m not telling anyone anything.”
I really like that boy, Fornax thought. And I don’t have a wart on my bottom.
He was being careful not to give away the real secret while making his point, Astrid thought. He’s a smart boy.
He is. I’m sorry I can’t keep him.
And that of course was the problem. Astrid and Fornax had both come to love the children, but could not keep them. They could not even touch them, really. Others would have to adopt them so that Xanth could be saved. Astrid knew they were doing the right thing, but sometimes it was harder than it looked.
Santo’s discussion decided it for the children. “Me neither,” Squid agreed.
“Even if we have to stay here forever,” Win said.
“But I’m the one who did it,” Myst said tearfully. “So—”
“No,” Firenze said firmly.
“We’re together,” Santo said.
“We all make mistakes,” Squid said.
“Any of us could have done it,” Win said.
Myst just cried tears of gratitude.
“So let’s see what we can do,” Firenze said.
“I’ll make a hole,” Santo said.
“No need,” Squid said. “When we Communed, we learned what this is.”
“A dream,” Win said.
“To make us Tell,” Myst said.
Firenze nodded. “So all we have to do is wake.”
“I’m not quite ready,” Santo said. “I’m mad at this fake castle.”
“So am I,” Squid said.
“Let me have the honor,” Win said.
“Sure,” Myst said.
They got together again, holding Win in place. Then the wind started. She aimed it up, and it quickly intensified, blasting at the ceiling. It got worse, until the ceiling blew away, crashing up against the roof. The wind swirled, seeking a way out. Then the roof blew off and went sailing across the sky. Then the walls blew out, and the castle collapsed into rubble around them.
Outside, the five day mares were staring. But the wind flew out to blow away their costumes, and they were revealed as night mares. This had not been a nice daydream, but a nasty nightmare. Then they too were blown away.
“Now we can wake,” Firenze said, satisfied as he gazed at the wreckage.
The dream lost the last of its cohesion and dissipated into foul mist as they woke.
They were lying as they had been, with Santo and Squid on either side of Fornax, Win and Mist by Astrid, and Firenze alone. Dawn had not yet come.
The two adults lay silently, as if still asleep. Would the children tell them of their dream?
One by one the children dropped back to sleep, perchance to dream of something else. None spoke of the Communal dream.
Everyone had secrets.
Fornax turned over, as if in her sleep. Her ghostly hand fell across Santo’s hand and remained there. He did not pull his hand away.
When true dawn came, they all got up and went about the morning routine. Then they resumed the walk toward home.
Chapter 12:
Firenze
“They’re back!” Kandy cried, rushing to hold her breath and hug Astrid. Then they were all there. Metria hugged Santo, Kandy hugged Squid, Tiara hugged Win, and Merge hugged Myst. No one hugged Firenze. That bothered Astrid, so she hugged him, briefly.
Then came the long narration of their adventure, omitting only the detail of who had folded up the Playground with them inside; the point was that they had found their way out, and recovered the Playground. Fornax would settle privately with Nemesis when it suited her convenience. The others were duly amazed, especially by the phenomenal development of the children’s talents, and their joint maturity in the crisis.
That night Astrid got private with Art, who had built up a lot of unrequited passion during her absence. She was glad to oblige it. She loved being with someone who could freely touch her without endangering his health, and who desired her without wanting to rape her.
I envy you that, Fornax remarked. I too can’t be really close to someone without exploding him to smithereens.
Astrid had come to know the Demoness well enough not to be bothered by her presence; it was part of her friendship. Fornax had after all been with them throughout their trek through Storage, unseen; she knew what was what. Art could not see Fornax, but since this in no way diminished Astrid’s passion for him, it didn’t matter. You could indulge Nemesis, she replied teasingly.
Sometimes I’m actually tempted. He’s one who won’t annihilate on contact with me; dark matter interacts too little with either terrene or ContraTerrene matter. That may explain his interest.
I doubt it; he just wants to get into your panties, like any male seeing a female like you, and figures he’ll get there if he just keeps pressuring you long enough. It’s a male-type challenge. Astrid could not have said that aloud in the vicinity of the children, but this was silent among adults.
To be sure. But I want it to be strictly on my terms, not his. I haven’t yet figured out how to permanently bind him, so I can tease him unmercifully without any possibility of parole or release. She formed a little image of herself in translucently straining bra and panties, hovering just barely out of reach of a desperately reaching Nemesis.
Well, I hope you figure it out, Astrid thought. She had no desire to tease a man unmercifully, but she wasn’t a Demoness.
All too soon Astrid put Art to sleep in the usual manner, then slept herself. It would take her days to fully unwind from the tension of the Playground sequence.
In the morning they held a meeting of all of them, including the children. “Now that we are all together again,” Astrid said, “we need to see about getting the five children suitably adopted so that Xanth will be saved. After the mishap of the Playground, we can see that delay can be disastrous. We suspect that there are those who don’t want Xanth to be saved, who might try to interfere. So we need to move on with it without further delay.”
No one questioned that. “But these are not the most readily adoptable children,” Mitch said. “They are good children, but folk are apt to be wary of a girl who can fog out when they want to give her a bath, or a boy who radiates fireworks when annoyed, or a girl who is actually an alien creature.”
“I think such a girl would be fun,” Merge said, looking at Myst.
“But you’re not an outside person,” Mitch reminded her. “Neither are you married.”
“I know,” Merge said regretfully.
“Outsiders simply do not know these fine children as we do,” Kandy said, looking at Squid. “So one is alien; is that stranger than becoming a board?” She became the board.
“An outsider might not want to adopt either an alien or a board,” Mitch said.
Kandy returned to woman form and sighed. “True.”
“So I think we have to look carefully,” Astrid said. “Somewhere in Xanth there must be couples suitable for these children. We merely need to find them.”
“There’s the challenge,” Tiara said, looking at Win. “To find couples who will appreciate these children as we do.”
“Even if they don’t yet know it,” Kandy said.
“We can help,” Firenze said. “We can put on a Play, in the Playground, and Commune, and get an Answer.”
“So you can,” Astrid agreed, relieved. “Let’s do it. But this time we want to have someone guarding the Playground from outside it, just in case.”
“We’ll all do that,” Kandy said. “No one should enter that Playground without having a guard outside.”
“Let’s do it,” Santo said.
“Do we have a Play?” Squid asked.
They paused briefly. “Maybe could could dream up one,” Win said.
“A Day Mare Dream,” Myst said.
The children laughed, sharing a joke the adults didn’t get. Astrid looked carefully blank, concealing her knowledge.
“They are clever children,” Fornax murmured appreciatively beside Astrid, audible only to her. “They don’t waste perfectly good experience.”
Astrid nodded, because she couldn’t answer aloud without seeming to be talking to herself.
The children trekked to the edge of camp, where Firenze unpacked the Playground. “I’ll go in with them,” Astrid said. “Some of the rest of you should too, to make an audience for their play.”
“We all will,” Kandy said.
“But at least one person should stay outside,” Astrid said.
“I’ll stand guard,” Art said, settling down by the edge.
“Thank you.” She kissed him on the ear, then followed the others in.
The adults took seats in the audience section. Fornax sat invisibly beside Astrid. “This should be amusing.”
Yes, Astrid thought.
“The Bad Act. Scene One,” Squid announced. “Day Mares.”
The children mounted the stage and went right into their play, setting up four sawhorses in center stage. Astrid hadn’t realized that there were sawhorses there, but somehow the children had known about them, in a supply section under the stage. Squid mounted one sawhorse and changed shape and color, making it resemble a real horse. The other children lay down opposite the sawhorses, then made motions of waking, washing, dressing, and going outside.